OTTAWA - The air force will expand testing of drones over Canadian soil this year, giving itself — and potentially law-enforcement agencies — more eyes in the sky.

But a legal expert warns the emerging technology needs close study and clear restrictions when it's not being used to wage war.

Unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs have become the weapon of choice for the U.S. in strikes against al-Qaida, and the Americans are stepping up their use along the Canadian border.

Errol Mendes, a University of Ottawa law professor and former adviser to Paul Martin's government, says parliamentarians should have a close look at the emerging technology and consider the implications of their civilian use.

Mendes says lawmakers also need to consider whether drones should be armed.

Although the Canadian military used Israeli-made drones in Afghanistan for at least three years, their first use at home came last summer during an annual exercise in the Arctic.

The head of the country's domestic command, Lt.-Gen. Walter Semianiw, recently told a Senate committee more flights are scheduled for this year in the areas around Inuvik, N.W.T., and Churchill, Man.

"We know we need to use them, and the Canadian Forces from a capability point of view are moving ahead to ensure there is domestic capability as part of its UAV program in the future," Semianiw testified.

The Americans are already using MQ-1 Predator drones to patrol its borders with both Canada and Mexico. The U.S. Congress approved a bill in February that requires the Federal Aviation Administration to develop regulations for the licensing of commercial drones by 2013, and police forces throughout the country are clamouring for their own.

Mendes says a tide is building and Canadian lawmakers need to get ahead of it.

"This is going to be coming eventually because there is no doubt that patrolling by aerial means is far more effective than on the ground," he said.

Semianiw said the Canadian military's use of drones has thus far been restricted to surveillance only in remote regions. They are not armed.

He said crowded airspace and existing legislation restricts their use over cities and noted those limits relate to the overall containment of the military's aid to the civilian power.

"You must remember that, in Canada, within the domestic construct, I do not have the right to be able to apply lethal force in Canada. That is the responsibility of the police," Semianiw testified.

He raised the possibility of co-operating with law-enforcement agencies, but declined to say how that would take shape and under what circumstances.

"The question would be perhaps in the future whether we could work with the police forces to assist them by providing UAVs," he said.

Mendes said that use of UAVs is where law-makers need to step in and define the rules, especially since military drones have a suite of surveillance technology, including infrared capabilities, that have a whole range of privacy implications.

Eight years ago, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that police helicopter surveillance using infrared technology to detect marijuana grow-ops was a reasonable intrusion.

The U.S. legal community has been debating the issue, not only the Big Brother implications but the possibility of arming police drones.

Several American police departments are experimenting with small UAVs.

One of them, the Shadowhawk, can carry a 40 mm grenade launcher and a 12-gauge shotgun.

The manufacturer, Vanguard Defense Industries of Conroe, Texas, said it doesn't sell the armed version in the United States, although it has had interest from police for non-lethal munitions, such as tear-gas canisters.

"Ultimately, it's not that much of stretch to say this will come and there should be regulation," said Mendes.

Semianiw told senators he couldn't foresee a circumstance where military drones would be armed over North American soil.

"The intent is that it is an (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) platform that provides eyes and ears and the ability to take action on the ground is done by the police, not by the military," he said.

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Drones: The Future Of Flight

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Type: Military (U.S.)
Description: Boeing's stealth Phantom Ray took to the skies for the first time in April 2011. According to Boeing, the Phantom Ray can perform missions such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; suppression of enemy air defenses; and electronic attack.
Potential Deployment: Unknown. This is a "demonstrator" so there will likely be a future variation of the Ray.

Type: Military (U.S.)
Description: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator Avenger C is a beast. According to the two-page brochure, the PAC is a "Next-Generation Multi-mission ISR and Strike Aircraft" and successor for the Predator B that can be stacked with a multitude of weaponry.
Deployment: There is one demonstration craft currently in Afghanistan.

Type: Military (U.S.)
Description: Yo dawg, I heard you like drones so I put a drone in your drone. One small deadly warhead-equipped mini-drone stuffed into another, to be launched from the main drone and remotely aimed at a target.
Potential Deployment: This warhead-equiped micro-UAV could be flown by SOCOM in the skies by spring 2012.

Type: Military (USA)
Description: AeroVironment's Switchblade is meant to be a portable, rapid deployment, beyond line-of-sight, "loitering munition" that is a "magic bullet."
A bit of advice, AeroVironment: Don't describe a remote-controlled bomb as a "loitering munition" that you call "Switchblade," as it conjures up images of 1950's-style greasers loitering on street corners, flipping open switchblades idly as they wait for their favorite gals.
Luckily, greasers won't be in charge of flying Switchblades. They're to be controlled by infantry and according to the AeroVironment, "Flying quietly at high speed the Switchblade delivers its onboard explosive payload with precision while minimizing collateral damage."
Potential Deployment: Undisclosed.

Type: Surveillance (USA, DARPA Funded)
Description: AeroVironment is at it again. In partnership with DARPA, they've actually managed to build a human mechanically engineered version of one of nature's most amazing flying machines: the hummingbird. The Nano Hummingbird is a perfect bid for James Bond-esque style spy shenanigans. Once these hit the field, we'll never look at hummingbirds the same way. "Stop looking at me! That bird is following me!"
Potential Deployment: Within five years.

Type: Military (U.S. Army)
Description: Though the military's A160 Hummingbird drone doesn't resemble an actual hummingbird so much as AeroVironment's take, it is raising just as many alarms because of its potential to be deployed on the U.S. home front.
Potential Deployment: May or June 2012, Afghanistan

Type: Military (U.S. Navy)
Description: Northrop Grumman describes the Firescout as a "Transformational Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system provides unprecedented situation awareness and precision targeting support for U.S. Armed Forces of the future. The MQ-8B Fire Scout has the ability to autonomously take off and land on any aviation-capable warship and at prepared and unprepared landing zones in proximity to the soldier in contact."
Potential Deployment: March 2013

Type: Military (German Ministry of Defense, purchased from Northrop Grumman)
Description: NG touts its Euro Hawk, built for German Ministry of Defense, as having a "wingspan larger than a commercial airliner, endurance of more than 30 hours and a maximum altitude of more than 60,000 feet, EURO HAWK is an interoperable, modular and cost-effective replacement to the aging fleet of manned Breguet Atlantic aircraft, which have been in service since 1972 and will be retired in 2010."
Potential Deployment: 2015, 2016 (PDF)

Type: Military (U.S. Navy)
Description: A carrier-based combat drone, Northrop Grumman's futuristic X-47B flew in its cruise configuration for the first time on November 22, 2011. It can land with precision on the deck of a moving aircraft carrier, and features twin weapons payload bays that hold up to 4,500 lbs. (PDF).
Potential Deployment: 2018

Type: Military (British)
Description: BAE System's Taranis (PDF) is aiming to "Push the boundaries by providing advancements in low observability capability and autonomous mission systems operations demonstrating the feasibility and utility of UAVs." Such a statement starts to push the idea of fully autonomous flight from science fiction into science fact, though we're still a long way off from having an actual real debate on fully autonomous drones fighting our battles and flying our skies.
Potential Deployment: TBD, test flights have been delayed to 2012.

Type: Communications
Description: Boeing's hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye is a High Altitude Long Duration Craft designed to fly at 65,000 feet for up to four days.
Potential Deployment: Unknown

Type: Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)
Description: DARPA's description says the "Vulture technology enables a re-taskable, persistent pseudo-satellite capability, in an aircraft package." Basically, DARPA is attempting to develop a super long duration craft capable of five year continuous flight. Think about that - the Vulture is intended to fly for up to five years continuously. If it were to launch this year it would be in the air for two Olympics.
Potential Deployment: Unknown

Type: Government Funded Space Exploration
Description: While the proposal probably won't go through for this mission, this is an aerial drone we can really get behind. AVIATR would be a long distance drone that would fly the skies of Saturn's moon Titan.
Potential Deployment: Beyond 2020

Type: Surveillance (Japan)
Description: Techcrunch tells us that the drone can "stand still in mid-air, fly vertically and horizontally through narrow spaces at up to 60km/h, and (which is very cool) keep on moving when it hits the ground or a wall. Thanks to three gyro sensors in its body, the machine can keep also flying even if it's hit by an obstacle." And all for only $1,400.
Potential Deployment: Undisclosed